Start Padding Your Stats

The Grand Theft Auto series is a popular form of sandbox game where you've got the opportunity to act out all your lawless fantasies in situations where no one really gets hurt.

And it contains a rather interesting feature that we should all apply unto our real lives.

Pausing the game brings up a menu whereby you can view statistics.

Then choosing that option immediately produces a laundry list of slow-scrolling items containing details reports of everything you've done whilst in the game. It shows a readout of things like how much cash you've collected, how many cars you've stolen, how many people you've killed....

That readout goes on and on and on, and that started me thinking:

Pretty much every act you commit in this life is being monitored.

Essentially everything you do is recorded for all time.

Those playbacks of your existence live mainly inside the brains of yourself and others around you--and that information is accessed and distilled for things like life reviews.

From that data you can experience encounters from other points of view. You can feel what others felt and hear what they thought. You can rewind and fast-forward time to reexamine the most important scenes of your whole playthrough in this remarkable world.

And you can also view your statistics.

There you'll find a host of revealing information about yourself.

And there you'll probably read a tons of things you'd rather not see.

Just imagine what that list might contain. Think it through and visualize it in full.

Your life statistics would contain snapshot summaries of your deeds on this planet. It would hold detailed information containing information about everything you've done.

Invariably it would provide every single little detail about your actions, letting you immediately understand how things went well... and how they could've gone much better.

It might contain various salient data points such as:

-Number of positive comments made
-Number of negative comments made
-Number of times you made people cry
-Number of times you made people laugh
-Number of times you considered evil deeds
-Number of times you considered good deeds

It might also contain graphs showing things like:
-Percentage of instances you were a positive vs. negative influence upon the world
-Percentage of reactions you evoked in others (happiness, fear, anger, sadness, jealousy, envy, etc.)
-Percentage of funds allocated towards destructive habits (smoking, drinking, drugs) versus constructive habits (eating right, exercising)

And it might hold breakdowns of how you spent your time here on earth:

-Time spent sleeping
-Time spent in traffic
-Time spent in a cubical
-Time spent in the bathroom
-Time spent watching television
-Time spent exercising outdoors or at the gym
-Time spent meditating or engaging in self-improvement/spiritual refinement

And it'll certain contain things like:

-Time spent imagining how to make this world a better place
-Time spent actually making this world a better place

In short that encyclopedic list will contain every single encapsulated detail about your stay here on earth. And it'll instantly let you (and your spirit advisers) know what kind of impact you had on our pretty green world.

This is something I've thought about a lot. And it's something you should consider also.

Because I do believe there's going to be a way to view your statistics after the end of this life.

So you should start thinking about what kind of graphs and charts and readouts you'd like to see.

Before it's too late to make changes to your numbers, you should begin contemplating the overarching effect you've had (and are having, and WILL have) upon this world and its inhabitants.

Lest you encounter a very awkward scene in the spirit world--lest you find yourself on the receiving end of some disconcerting revelations about the true nature of your life--you should start searching out ways and means to add unto your positive statistics while ensuring those negative tallies never grow greater.

You should start seeking opportunities towards improving the impact you have upon this amazing reality we're cohabitating.

In short--start padding your stats today.

Thus you can feel better about your time on earth.

And you can eliminate any need for regrets in the future.

a reply to: Trachel

When I start playing video games, I often think to myself, "why am I doing this when there is real life". Real life has the highest resolution graphics possible, and the highest frame rates. You can do more in real life than you can do in any one video game. Video games are about instant gratification, but real life can be vastly more gratifying than any video game.

The "game" of life has sophisticated characters, twisting and unpredictable plots, and if you put your mind to it, put your time and energy into it, you can do anything, just like in a video game. I used to have a 9 to 5 job. I quit that and moved away. I now life life on my own terms, I earn money money on my own terms, and its very enjoyable... I don't really consider it work at all. I don't have much money yet, but its pretty likely that I will have quite a lot a few years from now. But, I do enjoy lots of spare time, and I do enjoy life since I've discovered my inner self.

I also agree with you that real life can have many metrics that are every bit as satisfying as in a video game. How many people can you help feed on Thanksgiving? That could be made into a game with high scores.

It is my philosophy that life is a game, and I do feel like I am winning. I try as much as possible to share some of my experiences but its quite difficult to understand. We define our own life just as much as God does, and we create our own metrics for success. Of course there is much that can't really be measured.

There are many values people have like love, peace, and freedom. These are very difficult to measure but it can more or less be done and it sounds like a fun thing to try.

Greetings and Salutations- Oh You mean The Akashic Records- "What was, what is and what will be"?

If You KNEW for a fact that You've had previous lives before, would You change this Life at all? Would this skew Your definition of "time"? I only mention this because of the times that 'time' is mentioned, doesn't each Self hold eternity in the palm of their hand?

i.e. "The number of times You made somebody cry?..." What if they were "tears of joy"?

What do You think? Because ultimately that is the ONLY thing that matters. I know it doesn't bode well for the quid pro quo of an intraweb chat forum but...

namaste

Your thread reminded me of that Robot Chicken Episode, lol.

This kind of thinking is quite common today. It's fundamentally self-important. Dispensing with God and religion, people still retain this tendency to believe that everything they do matters, that their every action has some obscure metaphysical relevance.

Let me tell you something: it does not. Who or what is systematically observing my consumption of a hot pocket? Who or what is categorizing and analyzing the sh*t that I just took?

There's always that tendency to ascribe importance to every little thing we do, regardless of its apparent irrelevance. I take a common sense approach. If something that I do is obviously unimportant and has no obvious impact on the world around me, then I see it for what it is: unimportant and irrelevant.

No one is keeping track of your "stats".

originally posted by: Talorc
Let me tell you something: it does not. Who or what is systematically observing my consumption of a hot pocket? Who or what is categorizing and analyzing the sh*t that I just took?

Your senses are observing it.

Your brain is recording that action.

And the designers of your life (and the overseers of your personal development) are very much interested in what you eat. If you feed your body healthy foods and take good care of it, you'll be rewarded with good bodies in the future.

If you stuff your face with crap like hot pockets, the universe isn't going to waste the energy giving you a superior form you'll just destroy with junk food.

Thank you for this thread! It was just what I needed tonight.

One thing I will add is when visualizing these "akashik records" it has often been helpful to me to first visualize a flashing light in the upper left corner of my vision. For some reason it really seems to promote better recall, and finer access to the aspects of memory that often fade into the wallpaper otherwise, like body language, gestures, poses and other forms of nonverbal communication. I find it easier to "drill down" if I am immersed in the memory somehow, and not just passively and superficially "watching it" unfold in my minds eye.

The part about padding stats now was gold. Absolutely wonderful advice to anyone who desires to live with greater agency.

originally posted by: Trachel

originally posted by: Talorc
Let me tell you something: it does not. Who or what is systematically observing my consumption of a hot pocket? Who or what is categorizing and analyzing the sh*t that I just took?

Your senses are observing it.

Your brain is recording that action.

And the designers of your life (and the overseers of your personal development) are very much interested in what you eat. If you feed your body healthy foods and take good care of it, you'll be rewarded with good bodies in the future.

If you stuff your face with crap like hot pockets, the universe isn't going to waste the energy giving you a superior form you'll just destroy with junk food.

Indeed it wouldn't. The universe, in it's way, would give me what I deserve. But why is there this need to drape such a simple concept in esotericism? There is nothing esoteric about action/reaction and the idea of determinism. Every chump on this planet knows that actions have consequences.

And yes, my brain recorded it. And then it promptly forgot about it. There's no room in my brain for things like that, as I'd prefer to remember the names of European monarchs during the Thirty Years War rather than the hot pocket I ate. I don't disagree with the root concept. But there's no need to refer to the universe as some (remarkablely petty) observer that consciously "punishes" and "rewards".

And my overseers..... could you introduce me to them? It would surely help me at this point in my life.

Bah! Who cares about padding statistics? I have the God mode cheat code activated: Jesus' sacrifice. With that I can do all I want and not have to face the consequences of those actions.

God doesn't care about people who do good, he cares about people who believe, no matter their actions. This is elementary stuff my friend.

/sarcasm

originally posted by: 0zzymand0s
Thank you for this thread! It was just what I needed tonight.

The part about padding stats now was gold. Absolutely wonderful advice to anyone who desires to live with greater agency.

Thanks! Hearing some kind words was exactly what I needed tonight.

Looks like we both padded our stats.

As in videogames, my stats are irrelevant to me, as are anyone's perception of them.

I play for my own happiness and, when privileged enough to do so (which isn't as frequent as I'd like, but it does happen,) to contribute to that of others. Nothing more.

Peace.

a reply to: Trachel

You are awesome

And you are absolutely right

Just wanted you to know

originally posted by: Uma511
a reply to: Trachel

You are awesome

And you are absolutely right

Just wanted you to know

Thanks, you're awesome too!

originally posted by: Talorc
And yes, my brain recorded it. And then it promptly forgot about it. There's no room in my brain for things like that, as I'd prefer to remember the names of European monarchs during the Thirty Years War rather than the hot pocket I ate. I don't disagree with the root concept. But there's no need to refer to the universe as some (remarkablely petty) observer that consciously "punishes" and "rewards".

And my overseers..... could you introduce me to them? It would surely help me at this point in my life.

Your brain didn't forget it. You just lack the energetic subtlety and knowledge of the associative node structure required to delve those neural pathways and retrieve that memory.

Meditate lots and you'll find your memory becoming much much sharper--and your recall of seemingly inconsequential details improving.

As for contacting your benevolent spirit guides, try talking with Orlando Chujandama. He lives in Tarapoto, Peru and can put you in touch with them.

If that's not an option, meditation also produces a dreaming psychedelic state that (eventually--after years and years of practice) connects you with the spirit world.

Cheers.

Interesting thoughts, Trachel. Nice to 'see' you again.

This type of philosophy is troubling to many, for obvious reasons. The most important test in this life deals with how we treat others. The vast majority are lacking in this department, even on the best day.

For those of us who have seen through the illusion, the tests and penalties are more extensive in my opinion.

Thank you for another thought provoking thread.

a reply to: htapath

Thanks for reading and commenting!

Good seeing you too!

a reply to: Trachel

I may at that. I do enjoy meditating, sometimes. I have actually noticed what you describe, but it seems almost random. Strange things I'd almost forgotten about would pop back into my head, for whatever reason.

Sorry if I came off as rude last night. Wasn't having a good day. Cheers.

originally posted by: Talorc
a reply to: Trachel

I may at that. I do enjoy meditating, sometimes. I have actually noticed what you describe, but it seems almost random. Strange things I'd almost forgotten about would pop back into my head, for whatever reason.

Sorry if I came off as rude last night. Wasn't having a good day. Cheers.

It's all good, I'm glad you responded again! Try meditating at least an hour each day and you'll reap the rewards in this life and the next.

And I honestly hope you have a better day today (and every day going forward)!